Yeah that's a pretty good transformation..for the better IMO. It'll be interesting to see Clark Street when that retail/commercial is done. Interested to see what's put in there. Also I like how it's spurring other development in the immediate area. If the Cubs have another good season, then I wonder if that will further things even more.

I'm lovin the "clean-up". I just hope it doesn't turn into a rush/division.

Wow, that photo is simply incredible!!! I'm going to use it every time one of my friends asks me what part of Chicago I live in (even though the specific location I'm at is just off the photo to the right just east of Broadway and just south of Addison, but close enough!)

Aaron (Glowrock)

Wow, Wrigleyville is really making a tremendous shift. From shady dump to this? Thank you!

Still looks like a bunch of land that’s primed for development. Bottom left of course, and then is that a big surface lot bordering Graceland Cemetary?

Bottom Left is Taco Bell, which is already spoken for, it will be a 3 story retail building. The Surface lot on Grace St. is the Cubs Green Lot, zero percent chance that will be developed.

nice little UC in the distance should be visible from inside park

Why not?

A surface parking lot is never the highest and best use. Two levels of underground parking and a 6-story building with residential and ground floor retail would make them a lot of money.

Write a letter to the Cubs...They want a staging area for future projects, and they have no interest in entering the residential landlord business. they collect a shit load of revenue from parking too. The Cubs are doing the opposite of selling off prime parcels, they are acquiring more land, to control as much of the neighborhood as possible.

I am hopeful that does not happen. To be clear, it is a little rush/division south of Addison. Actually a lot. The Ricketts really don't want that going north of Addison.

With the exception of Brickhouse, which is a nicely designed but still bro-sports-hootersesque waitstaff-TGIFridays shithole (cocktails in plastic cups), their restaurant choices for the Hotel Zacharay and the office building are more Bucktown than rush/division - West Town Bakery, Big Star, Smoke Daddy, a cocktail bar called Mordecai, Lucky Dorr, Jeni's Ice Cream, plus Starbucks Reserve.

Also, the way they are programming the "park" is waaay family, Southport Corridor oriented.

The Addison & Clark building is a design turd, with way too many parking spaces, but it is going to have a movie theater, which I like.

What do you mean by Rush/Division? Those two streets do not intersect, are you referring to Division between State and Dearborn? If so, Clark Street near Wrigley has essentially been drawing that crowd for 25 years.
Rush Street? are you referring to places such as Tavern on Rush, Lux Bar, Gibson's, Nico Osteria? Not sure how the Clark Street Bars near Wrigley would ever turn into that. Though, having the Park at Wrigley function the same as Mariano Park on Rush would be a tremendous asset to the neighborhood, but as Woodrow posted above, it is turning into more of an extension of the Southport Crowd, which is a positive in my opinion.

What's the extra wide alley next to the taco bell for?

Would like to see a few ~20 stories scattered around for good measure, but that's probably too much to ask for.

It's an old rail right of way. I believe this was the North Shore Line, but I may have the wrong name. In ran diagonally west south of here and crossed over Goose Island; to the north it crossed right in front of Wrigley Field, through Kelly Park, then joined up with the Red Line going north.

nm

Correct
https://i.imgur.com/6f3kIIUh.jpg
11/24/1938

Source: http://clearinghouse.isgs.illinois.e...al-photography

OK thanks. I wish there were some diagonal streets going that general direction. I know all roads lead to the the loop. But a road from Garfield Park to lakeview, and Garfield Park to Bronzeville would be really helpful when you are trying to go across town. Like how in Paris there are diagonals going in every direction. That seems like the best way for a city to be laid out, so you can get from anywhere to anywhere easily.
Or the long talked about Crosstown expressway would help.

That's the old R.O.W. of the former Chicago & Evanston line of the Milwaukee Road not the North Shore Line. The North Shore Line ran on the north side main of the L to access the Loop and is completely unrelated. The last train on the C&E in front of Wrigley actually was much more recent than one would think, 1973, and one could see rails on Waveland as recently as a few years ago. Here is a good thread of info on the R.O.W.

Here are a couple shots, all of which I believe were taken when Wrigley was known as Weeghman Park:

https://c1.staticflickr.com/5/4024/4...ec6_z.jpg?zz=1
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http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/w...y169531927.jpg
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Another here.

Even more information on the C&E here and here.

Awesome history lesson Busy Bee!

It's still pretty visible where the old C&E line used to traverse. You can follow the old ROW south from Addison by all the diagonally shaped new development all the way to Belmont, where it turns to Lakewood Ave. The tracks ran down the center of Lakewood (which is why a lot of the older buildings there treat it as an alley) all the way to Wrightwood Ave, where it shifts a bit to the west of Lakewood. You can still see the trackage along the ROW just south of Fullerton, as well as at Belden, and Webster where it was recently-ish paved over. South of Webster, the ROW is called Nursery St and the track fully reappears. It continues south of Clybourn where it turns southeast and joins with the old (and still visible) Deering Line along Kingsbury.

North from the park the line ran down Seminary, then running alongside with the north side main line elevated by Irving Park, running alongside it for much of the path to Evanston. 10 to 15 years ago you could still see abandoned bits of freight track to the west of the Red Line along the Cubs green lot and Graceland cemetery. The ROW of course is still visible.

Source: I like maps and trains.